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SEASON' GREETINGS
And the angel
said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of
great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
(Luke 2:10-11)
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5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE BIRTH OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AT BETHLEHEM:
1) HIS BIRTH MARKED THE INCARNATION OF THE SON OF GOD INTO THIS WORLD:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of
grace and truth. (John 1:14)
Jesus Christ was no mere Bible
teacher or great religious leader. He was not first among equals.
Rather (as our texts declare) He was the Eternal Son of God who came to
earth as a Man and lived among us. We capture this great truth in one
of the famous Christmas carols which millions throughout the world will
sing:
Christ, by highest heaven adored: Christ, the everlasting Lord;
Late in
time behold him come, Offspring of a virgin's womb..
Veiled in flesh, the
Godhead see; Hail, the incarnate Deity:
Pleased, as man, with men to
dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel!
Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the
newborn King!
Although Christ took upon Himself
the form of a servant, He ever remained the Eternal God. All the
attributes of God are His and this is why He is the object of worship
by millions of Christians around the world.
2) HIS BIRTH WAS A VIRGIN BIRTH:
Now
all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the
Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child,
and shall bring forth a
son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is,
God with us. (Matthew 1:22-23)
This
was very necessary. All of us who are born by natural generation are
born with original sin and guilt from Adam. Since Christ was conceived
in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, He did
not contract Adam's guilt. This ensured that He could die for the sins
of others, which is, of course, the very heart of the gospel. This is
why Christ is called the last Adam. (1 Corinthians 15:45) Every
sinner is represented by the first Adam. We are fallen in him. Those
who are saved are represented by the Last Adam i.e. Christ. The first
Adam brought us into a state of sin and misery. The last Adam brings
His people into an estate of salvation.
3) HIS BIRTH WAS FORETOLD BY THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS IN GREAT DETAIL:
Philip
findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses
in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of
Joseph. (John 1:45)
For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. (John 5:46)
This
salvation package was planned of God in the greatest detail. This was
no chance happening -no mere add on to or adapting of events
already discovered. Something so great as the removal of the guilt of
your soul and your eternal destiny demands that this matter be
dealt with properly. Everything about God's salvation plan, as revealed
in the two testaments of the Bible is perfect and cannot be bettered.
Here is something on which you can safely and eternally rest your
soul.
4) HIS BIRTH AND CONSEQUENT DEATH ON THE CROSS WAS WITH THE VIEW OF REDEEMING US FROM THE GUILT AND POWER OF OUR SINS:
In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Ephesians 1:7)
As
seen, the death of Christ was no accident. It was planned by God from
all eternity, long promised and perfectly executed by Christ Himself at
Calvary. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission [of sin] (Hebrews 9:22)
Christ has shed His blood as the ransom for our sins. Salvation cannot
be by our own good works for two reasons: [i] Our good works are
stained by sin which makes them invalid. [ii] We could never do enough
good works to save the soul. Dare we put our good works into the same
balances as the death of God's only Beloved Son and expect them to be
equal? Christ's death shows us just how sinful that we are in that it
took nothing less than the blood of God's Son to redeem us from sin.
5) CHRIST'S DEATH IS A UNIVERSAL CAUSE OF GREAT REJOICING:
For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. (John 3:16)
Everyone is invited to be saved. That word "whosoever"
cannot be reduced down. There is not a sinner alive who may not
conclude that he is unable to come and be saved. The only thing that
keeps him back is his love of sin. And
this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men
loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.(John 3:19)
Here is your
opportunity to be saved. Do not let it slip you by and so be lost
forever. A great multitude that no man can number out of every tongue
and tribe and nation have availed of it (Revelation 5:9) - why
not you and why not now?
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved (Acts 16:31)
If you get saved through reading the above card or through this page, please encourage us here by letting us know.
We can help you "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ " (2 Peter 3:18)
* More questions about the gospel - including an expansion on some of those mentioned here
If you would like further spiritual help, please email us at:
colin.maxwell@fpcmission.org